Lenovo ThinkPad Twist S230u

Hybrid tablets try to bridge the gap between the convenience of a tablet and the capability of a laptop, and they've been becoming more popular since the arrival of touchscreen-optimised Windows 8.

The 12.5-inch touchdisplay sits behind protective Gorilla Glass and delivers a resolution of 1,366x768, not the full HD shilling perhaps, but not bad at all. Full-fat 64-bit Windows 8 looks good and the screen feels sensitive enough to make using it a breeze. Above it sits a webcam that can handle 720p video -- perfectly fine for Skyping.

The 1.7GHz dual-core processor is backed by 8GB RAM and does a decent enough job of the performance chores. Ours came with a 128GB solid state drive though you can also get it with a slower 500GB hard drive and i5 processor for a couple of hundred quid less.

Specifications

• Software : Windows 8 64-bit
• Processor : 1.7Ghz dual-core Intel Core i7-3517U
• Memory : 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 RAM
• Display : 12.5in 1,366x768 pixels
• Hard Drive : 128GB SSD
• Graphics : Intel HD Graphics 4000
• Webcam : 720p HD
• Wireless : Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, wireless LAN, Bluetooth 4.0
• Ports : RJ-45 (Ethernet), 2x USB 3.0, 1x HDMI, 1x Display Port, 1xKensington Lock, headphone/microphone jack, power connector,multi-card
• : reader, mini-card adapter
• Blu-ray player : No
• Size : 313x236x20mm
• Weight : 1.5kg